Scoring charging events at electric vehicles

ABSTRACT

A system and method for ranking or scoring charging stations and/or charging events or sessions, and/or performing actions based on the ranking or scoring is described. In some embodiments, a charging station ranking engine is configured to rank charging stations, or potential charging events, based on feedback received from users of the charging stations, such as drivers of electric vehicles, or other dynamically determined factors.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 61/858,934, filed on Jul. 26, 2013, entitled RANKING ELECTRICVEHICLE CHARGING STATIONS, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.61/937,397, filed on Feb. 7, 2014, entitled SCORING CHARGING EVENTS FORELECTRIC VEHICLES, which are hereby incorporated by reference in theirentirety.

BACKGROUND

Although the adoption of electric vehicles is increasing, there arestill many people that find them confusing or inaccessible, or areotherwise not interested in using electric vehicles for theirtransportation needs. Therefore, technology is being developed to removesuch barriers associated with the adoption of electric vehicles.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating components of a suitablecomputing environment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the components of a chargingstation ranking engine.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for ranking electricvehicle charging stations.

FIGS. 4A-4E are display diagrams illustrating example displayspresenting ranked electric vehicle stations via a mobile application.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for performing an actionassociated with a potential charging event.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating the components of a chargingevent ranking engine.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for performing an actionassociated with a scored charging event.

FIG. 8 is a display diagram illustrating an example display presenting ascored charging event.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Overview

A system and method for ranking or scoring charging stations and/orcharging events or sessions, and/or performing actions based on theranking or scoring is described. In some embodiments, a charging stationranking engine is configured to rank charging stations, or potentialcharging events, based on feedback received from users of the chargingstations, such as drivers of electric vehicles, or other dynamicallydetermined factors. For example, the charging event ranking engine mayrank a potential or prospective charging event at a charging stationbased on a current or dynamically determined suitability of the chargingstation for a specific electric vehicle.

The charging station ranking engine may perform various actions based onthe rankings, such as display the rankings, highlight highly rankedcharging stations in a mapping application, provide rewards to owners ofhighly ranked charging stations, and so on.

In some embodiments, a charging event ranking engine is configured torank and/or score charging events and/or charging sessions between acharging station and an electric vehicle. For example, the chargingevent ranking engine may rank or score commenced or completed chargingevents and/or charging sessions based on determining how efficient,cost-effective, and/or green the events or sessions were.

The ranking engines and various performed methods will now be describedwith respect to various embodiments. The following description providesspecific details for a thorough understanding of, and enablingdescription for, these embodiments of the system. However, one skilledin the art will understand that the system may be practiced withoutthese details. In other instances, well-known structures and functionshave not been shown or described in detail to avoid unnecessarilyobscuring the description of the embodiments of the system.

It is intended that the terminology used in the description presentedbelow be interpreted in its broadest reasonable manner, even though itis being used in conjunction with a detailed description of certainspecific embodiments of the system. Certain terms may even be emphasizedbelow; however, any terminology intended to be interpreted in anyrestricted manner will be overtly and specifically defined as such inthis Detailed Description section.

Suitable System

As described herein, various systems and methods for ranking chargingstations and/or charging events are described.

FIG. 1 illustrates components of a suitable computing environment 100 inwhich the systems and methods for ranking charging stations and/orcharging events may be supported and/or implemented. The computingenvironment 100 includes a mobile device 110, such as a mobile phone ortablet computer that supports and provides applications (e.g., “apps”)to a user of the mobile device 110. For example, the mobile device 110may include a mobile application 127 provided by the charging interfacesystem 125. The mobile application 127 may communicate with the charginginterface system 125, one or more charging networks 140, a chargingstation 145, and/or a computing device 135 supported by an electricvehicle 130, over a network 105, such as the internet or other wirelessor telecommunication networks. The electric vehicle (EV) 130 (e.g., avehicle, plugin hybrid, range extended hybrid, electric traction orbattery or plugin vehicle) is connected to the charging station 145 viaa charging cable 147, which provides charge to a battery pack of the EV130.

The mobile device 110 may be a tablet computer, mobile device,smart-phone, net-book, mobile GPS navigation device, or any other devicethat supports, presents, and/or displays apps via a user interface, suchas a touch-screen, of the device. The mobile device 110 includes varioushardware and/or software components in order to provide suchfunctionality. For example, the mobile device 110 includes various humaninterface components, device components, and memory, and so on.

The mobile device 110 may include a touch-screen or other inputcomponent that provides input to a processor. The touch-screen mayinclude or communicate with a hardware controller, such as atouch-screen driver, that interprets raw signals received from thetouch-screen and transmits information associated with a contact event(e.g., a pressing of an app via the touch-screen), to the processor. Thetouch-screen may be part of a display, such as a touch-screen display, aflat panel display, an electronic ink display, a head-mounted display, aliquid crystal display, a light-emitting diode display, a plasma paneldisplay, an electro-luminescent display, a vacuum fluorescent display, adigital projector, a laser projector, a heads-up display, and so on. Themobile device 110 may include other interface components, such as aspeaker that provides appropriate auditory signals to assist a user innavigating a touch-screen, and so on.

The mobile device 110 may include various device components, such assensors (e.g., GPS or other location determination sensors, motionsensors, gyroscopes, light sensors, and so on), removable storagedevices (e.g., SIM cards), cameras and other video capture devices,microphones and other audio capture devices, communication devices(e.g., Bluetooth devices, radios, antennas), and so on.

The mobile device 110 may include a processor that communicates withdata or applications stored in memory of the device 110, which mayinclude a combination of temporary and/or permanent storage, and bothread-only and writable memory (random access memory or RAM), read-onlymemory (ROM), writable non-volatile memory such as FLASH memory, harddrives, floppy disks, SIM-based components, and so on. The memory mayinclude various program components or modules, such as an operatingsystem, and various applications, such as applications downloaded to thedevice 110. For example, the memory may store applications native to thedevice that perpetually operate on the device (e.g., a keyboardapplication that provides a virtual keyboard, a text messagingapplication, and so on) as well as applications that are downloaded by auser and launched by the device (e.g., applications associated withsocial networking sites, games, and so on).

The memory may store one or more applications associated with anelectric vehicle, such as the mobile application 127, which facilitatescommunications between the mobile device 110 and an electric vehicle130, the computing device 135 of the electric vehicle 130, the chargingnetwork 140, the charging station 145, and/or a server supporting thecharging interface system 125.

For example, the mobile application 127 may communicate over the network105 with the computing device 135 of the electric vehicle 130, thecharging network 140, the charging station 145, and/or the charginginterface system 125. The network 105 may be a Local Area Network (LAN),a Wide Area Network (WAN), the Internet, or other networks capable offacilitating various communications between computing devices.

In some example embodiments, the mobile application 127 may communicatedirectly with various components of the computing environment 100. Themobile device 110 may include various communication components (e.g.,Bluetooth) that facilitate short range, near field, and/or other director personal area network communications between devices. For example,the mobile application 127 may utilize Bluetooth communication toexchange data with the charging network 140 and/or the charging station145 when other networks are unavailable or inaccessible (e.g., when theEV 130 is at the charging station 145 in an underground parking lot thatdoes not receive sufficient wireless or telecommunication signals).

The computing device 135 of the electric vehicle 130 may include variouscomputing components and/or modules configured and/or programmed tocontrol, manage, diagnose, or otherwise interact with components of theelectric vehicle 130. For example, the EV computing device 135 mayinclude an on-board computing system that includes on-board diagnostics,such as components configured and/or programmed to detect and/or receiveinformation from the electric vehicle's engine, battery pack, varioussensors, dashboard controls, and so on. The components may detect,sense, and/or capture various types of information, such as outsidetemperature information, inside temperature information, internal engineor component temperatures, motor rpm information, motor temperatureinformation, power consumption information, charger temperatureinformation, information associated with peak power consumption,location or geographical information, tire pressure information, tiretemperature information, information captured by seat pressure sensors,error codes or other operational information, and so on. For example,the components may detect, receive, and/or access motor controllerinformation, such as information associated with the power, voltage,current, frequency, waveform, modulation, and/or regenerative power ofthe motor of the EV, as well as information from modules which controlancillary functions of the EV, such as information associated withoperations of the lights, wipers, anti-lock brakes, seat warmers, music,climate controls, light sensors, smoke sensors, acceleration sensors,and other ancillary operations of an EV.

In some example embodiments, the computing environment 100 includes acharging station ranking engine 150 that is configured to accessinformation associated with electric vehicle charging stations,determine rankings and/or scores for the electric vehicle chargingstations, and display, or cause to be displayed, information within amap displayed by the mobile application 125 that presents the rankingsor scores along with icons representing the electric vehicle chargingstations, among other things. As described herein, the charging stationranking engine 150 may also perform other actions that are based on orotherwise associated with the rankings or scores of the chargingstations.

In some example embodiments, the charging station ranking engine 150 mayaccess information associated with potential or prospective chargingevents or sessions, determine rankings and/or scores for the chargingevents, and perform actions associated with the ranked charging events.

In some example embodiments, the computing environment 100 includes acharging event ranking engine 160 that is configured to accessinformation associated with completed charging events or sessions,determine rankings and/or scores for the charging events, and performactions associated with the ranked charging events.

FIG. 1 and the discussion herein provide a brief, general description ofa suitable computing environment in which the charging interface system125 can be supported and implemented. Although not required, aspects ofthe system are described in the general context of computer-executableinstructions, such as routines executed by a general-purpose computer,e.g., mobile device, a server computer, or personal computer. Thoseskilled in the relevant art will appreciate that the system can bepracticed with other communications, data processing, or computer systemconfigurations, including: Internet appliances, hand-held devices(including tablet computers and/or personal digital assistants (PDAs)),all manner of cellular or mobile phones, multi-processor systems,microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, set-topboxes, network PCs, mini-computers, mainframe computers, and the like.Indeed, the terms “computer,” “host,” and “host computer,” and “mobiledevice” and “handset” are generally used interchangeably herein, andrefer to any of the above devices and systems, as well as any dataprocessor.

Aspects of the system can be embodied in a special purpose computingdevice or data processor that is specifically programmed, configured, orconstructed to perform one or more of the computer-executableinstructions explained in detail herein. Aspects of the system may alsobe practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks ormodules are performed by remote processing devices, which are linkedthrough a communications network, such as a Local Area Network (LAN),Wide Area Network (WAN), or the Internet. In a distributed computingenvironment, program modules may be located in both local and remotememory storage devices.

Aspects of the system may be stored or distributed on computer-readablemedia (e.g., physical and/or tangible computer-readable storage media,such as non-transitory media), including magnetically or opticallyreadable computer discs, hard-wired or preprogrammed chips (e.g., EEPROMsemiconductor chips), nanotechnology memory, biological memory, or otherdata storage media. Indeed, computer implemented instructions, datastructures, screen displays, and other data under aspects of the systemmay be distributed over the Internet or over other networks (includingwireless networks) or they may be provided on any analog or digitalnetwork (packet switched, circuit switched, or other scheme). Thoseskilled in the relevant art will recognize that portions of the systemreside on a server computer, while corresponding portions reside on aclient computer such as a mobile or portable device, and thus, whilecertain hardware platforms are described herein, aspects of the systemare equally applicable to nodes on a network. In an alternativeembodiment, the mobile device or portable device may represent theserver portion, while the server may represent the client portion.

Any of the machines, databases, or devices shown in FIG. 1 may beimplemented in a general-purpose computer modified (e.g., configured orprogrammed) by software to be a special-purpose computer to perform thefunctions described herein for that machine, database, or device. Forexample, a computer system able to implement any one or more of themethodologies described herein. Moreover, any two or more of themachines, databases, or devices illustrated in FIG. 1 may be combinedinto a single machine, and the functions described herein for any singlemachine, database, or device may be subdivided among multiple machines,databases, or devices.

Examples of Ranking Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

As described herein, the charging station ranking engine 150 includescomponents, modules, and/or engines that perform various algorithms,processes, and/or methods to score or rank electric vehicle chargingstations and/or cause a mapping application, such as mobile application125, to display a map of charging stations along with indicators thatrepresent scores or rankings assigned to the displayed chargingstations, among other things.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the components of the chargingstation ranking engine 150. In some example embodiments, the chargingstation ranking engine 150 may include one or more modules and/orcomponents to perform one or more operations of the charging stationranking engine 150. The modules may be hardware, software, or acombination of hardware and software, and may be executed by one or moreprocessors. For example, the charging station ranking engine 150 mayinclude an information module 210, a ranking module 220, a displaymodule 230, and a context module 240.

In some example embodiments, the information module 210 is configuredand/or programmed to access or receive information associated withmultiple charging stations and/or potential charging events at thecharging stations. For example, the information module 210 may accessinformation received or captured by the mobile application 125 andassociated with charging stations displayed by a map provided by themobile application.

Example types of information may include check-in information (which mayinclude reviews, feedback, user interactions, and/or other binaryinformation or other information input by users of electric vehicles tothe mobile application 125.

In some example embodiments, the ranking module 220 is configured and/orprogrammed to rank each of the charging stations and/or potentialcharging events based on the accessed information. For example, theranking module 220 may generate, calculate, or otherwise determine ascore or ranking for some or all of the charging stations displayed bythe mobile application 125.

The ranking module 220 may assign rankings or scores to the chargingstations in a variety of ways and using a variety of scoring or rankingformats. For example, the ranking module 220 may rank or score chargingstations by determining a score between 1 and 10 (or greater) for eachof the charging stations that is based on a date-weighted average ofbinary station reviews received during check-in actions at the chargingstations. As another example, the ranking module 220 may rank or scorecharging stations by determining a score between 1 and 10 for each ofthe charging stations that is based on information received during amost recent check-in action.

Furthermore, the ranking module 220 may assign various types of rankingor scoring formats to the charging stations, such as numerical formats(e.g., a number between a range, such as 1-10), binary formats (e.g., ascore or rank that identifies the station as satisfactory or not), andso on.

In some example embodiments, the display module 230 is configured and/orprogrammed to display icons representative of the charging stationsalong with indicators for rankings assigned to each of the chargingstations within a mapping application supported by a mobile device. Forexample, the display module 230 may display indicators such as text orother informational indicators, color-coded indicators, stars or otherranking indicators, and so on.

In some example embodiments, the context module 240 is configured and/orprogrammed to access context information associated with a potentialcharging event at a charging station. For example, the context module240 may access information identifying a state of charge for an electricvehicle to be charged during the potential charging event, a route to betraveled from a current location of the electric vehicle and a locationof the charging station, and/or information associated with reviews ofprevious charging events at the charging station. As another example,the context module 240 may access information identifying a state ofcharge for an electric vehicle to be charged during the potentialcharging event and a route to be traveled from a current location of theelectric vehicle and a location of the charging station. As anotherexample, the context module 240 may access information identifying acost to charge the electric vehicle during the potential charging eventand information associated with reviews of previous charging events atthe charging station. Of course, the context module 240 may access othertypes of information associated with a potential charging event at acharging station.

In some example embodiments, the ranking module 220, when determining ascore for a potential charging event at a charging station, may update ascore previously assigned to the charging station (e.g., a score basedon reviews) based on the accessed context information. For example, theranking module 220 may update a score previously assigned to thecharging station based on information identifying a state of charge foran electric vehicle to be charged during the potential charging event,may update a score previously assigned to the charging station based oninformation identifying a predicted route currently traveled by anelectric vehicle to be charged during the potential charging event, andso on.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for ranking electricvehicle charging stations. The method 300 may be performed by thecharging station ranking engine 150 and, accordingly, is describedherein merely by way of reference thereto. It will be appreciated thatthe method 300 may be performed on any suitable hardware.

In operation 310, the charging station ranking engine 150 accessesinformation associated with a charging station, For example, theinformation module 210 accesses information associated with check-inactions for the charging station and provided by users of electricvehicles.

In operation 320, the charging station ranking engine 150 determines ascore for the charging station based on the accessed information. Forexample, the ranking module 220 determines a score between 1 and 10 forthe charging station that is based on a date-weighted average of binarystation reviews received during the check-in actions, and/or determinesa score between 1 and 10 for the charging station that is based oninformation received during a most recent check-in action, among otherthings.

The ranking module 220 may determine scores or rankings for chargingstations that are based on other types of information, such asdynamically determined information (e.g., a current charge state of anelectric vehicle driven by a user of the mobile application 125),vehicle destination information (e.g., information identifying a routeor predicted route for an electric vehicle driven by a user of themobile application 125), vehicle location information (e.g., a currentor predicted location of an electric vehicle driven by a user of themobile application 125), and so on.

The following code snippet provides an example of how the ranking module220 may calculate scores for charging stations:

def calculate_score(loc_id):  redis.delete(″locations:%d:score″ %loc_id)  location = Location.query.get(loc_id)  if not location:  return False  score = None  #use last 10 reviews, and weight themusing how far  they are since now  num_data_points = 0  MAX_POINTS = 10 if len(location.reviews) <= 3:   return None  eliflen(location.reviews) <= 8:   score = 9  else:   score = 10  for reviewin location.reviews:   if review.rating > 0:    num_data_points += 1  elif review.rating < 0:    review adjustment = math.sqrt(MAX_POINTS −   num_data_points) − 1    #review_score = review, rating #ifreview.rating >    0 else review, rating * 2    #days_ago =math.ceil((datetime.now( ) −    review.created_at).days)   #review_adjustment = review_score *    math.exp(−0.0231*days_ago)#halflife 120 days    score += −1 * review_adjustment    num_data_points+= 1   if num_data_points == MAX_POINTS:    break  if score < 0:   score= 0  redis.set(″locations:%d:score″ % location.id, score)  return score

In operation 330, the charging station ranking engine 150 displays adisplay element representative of the charging station along with anindicator of the determined score for the charging station via a mappingapplication. For example, the display module 230 may display variousindicators along with or proximate to icons representing chargingstations for scores or rankings assigned to the charging stations, amongother things.

FIGS. 4A-4E are display diagrams illustrating screen shots displayedwhen presenting rankings associated with electric vehicle chargingstations via the mobile application 125. For example, FIG. 4A depicts ascreen shot of an introductory page of the mobile application 125, FIG.4B depicts a screen shot of a check-in page that facilitates a user ordriver check-in at a charging station (along with receipt of a review orfeedback), and FIGS. 4C to 4E depicts screen shots that display iconsrepresenting charging stations along with scores or rankings determinedby the charging station ranking engine 150 described herein, among otherthings.

Examples of Ranking Potential Charging Events for an Electric Vehicle

As described herein, the charging station ranking engine 150 includescomponents, modules, and/or engines that perform various algorithms,processes, and/or methods to score or rank potential or future chargingevents and/or perform actions based on the scored or ranked potential orfuture charging events.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a method 500 for performing anaction associated with a potential charging event. The method 500 may beperformed by the charging station ranking engine 150 and, accordingly,is described herein merely by way of reference thereto. It will beappreciated that the method 500 may be performed on any suitablehardware.

In operation 510, the charging station ranking engine 150 accessescontext information associated with a potential charging event at acharging station. For example, the context module 240 may accessinformation identifying a state of charge for an electric vehicle to becharged during the potential charging event, a route to be traveled froma current location of the electric vehicle and a location of thecharging station, and/or information associated with reviews of previouscharging events at the charging station.

As another example, the context module 240 may access informationidentifying a state of charge for an electric vehicle to be chargedduring the potential charging event and a route to be traveled from acurrent location of the electric vehicle and a location of the chargingstation. As another example, the context module 240 may accessinformation identifying a cost to charge the electric vehicle during thepotential charging event and information associated with reviews ofprevious charging events at the charging station. Of course, the contextmodule 240 may access other types of information associated with apotential charging event at a charging station.

In operation 520, the charging station ranking engine 150 determines ascore for the potential charging event at the charging station based onthe accessed information. The ranking module 220 may determine scores orrankings for charging stations that are based on other types ofinformation, such as dynamically determined information (e.g., a currentcharge state of an electric vehicle driven by a user of the mobileapplication 125), vehicle destination information (e.g., informationidentifying a route or predicted route for an electric vehicle driven bya user of the mobile application 125), vehicle location information(e.g., a current or predicted location of an electric vehicle driven bya user of the mobile application 125), and so on.

For example, the ranking module 220 may generate, calculate, orotherwise determine a score or ranking for some or all of the chargingstations displayed by the mobile application 125. The ranking module 220may assign rankings or scores to the charging stations in a variety ofways and using a variety of scoring or ranking formats. For example, theranking module 220 may rank or score charging stations by determining ascore between 1 and 10 (or greater) for each of the charging stationsthat is based on a date-weighted average of binary station reviewsreceived during check-in actions at the charging stations. As anotherexample, the ranking module 220 may rank or score charging stations bydetermining a score between 1 and 10 for each of the charging stationsthat is based on information received during a most recent check-inaction. Furthermore, the ranking module 220 may assign various types ofranking or scoring formats to the charging stations, such as numericalformats (e.g., a number between a range, such as 1-10), binary formats(e.g., a score or rank that identifies the station as satisfactory ornot), and so on.

In some example embodiments, the ranking module 220, when determining ascore for a potential charging event at a charging station, may update ascore previously assigned to the charging station (e.g., a score basedon reviews) based on the accessed context information. For example, theranking module 220 may update a score previously assigned to thecharging station based on information identifying a state of charge foran electric vehicle to be charged during the potential charging event,may update a score previously assigned to the charging station based oninformation identifying a predicted route currently traveled by anelectric vehicle to be charged during the potential charging event, andso on.

In operation 530, the charging station ranking engine 150 displays adisplay element representative of the charging station along with anindicator of the determined score for the charging station via a mappingapplication. For example, the display module 230 may display indicatorssuch as text or other informational indicators, color-coded indicators,stars or other ranking indicators, and so on.

In some example embodiments, the charging station ranking engine 150 mayperform various actions that are based on a ranked or scored chargingevent. For example, the charging station ranking engine 150 may performan action on behalf of a driver of the electric vehicle that is based onthe score determined for the potential charging event, may automaticallyreserve the charging station when the score determined for the potentialcharging event is above a threshold score, and so on.

As another example, the charging station ranking engine 150 may receivean indication that an actual charging event has occurred between theelectric vehicle and the charging station, assign a score to the actualcharging event that is based on the score determined for the potentialcharging event at the charging station, and provide a reward to a driverof the electric vehicle that is based on the score assigned to theactual charging event. In some example embodiments, the charging stationranking engine 150 may incentivize drivers of electric vehicles toutilize positively reviewed charging stations or may incentivize thedrivers to charge their vehicles at charging stations that facilitatehighly scored charging events or sessions.

Thus, in some example embodiments, the charging station ranking engine150 accesses context information associated with a potential chargingevent at a charging station, and determines a score for the potentialcharging event at the charging station by updating a score previouslyassigned to the charging station using the context information. Thecharging station ranking engine 150, therefore, may provide drivers withdynamically determined scores or rankings of charging stations when theyare deciding what charging stations to utilize in charging theirvehicles.

Examples of Ranking Completed Charging Events for an Electric Vehicle

As described herein, the charging event ranking engine 160 includescomponents, modules, and/or engines that perform various algorithms,processes, and/or methods to score or rank completed charging eventsand/or perform actions based on the scored or ranked completed chargingevents.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating the components of the chargingevent ranking engine 160. In some example embodiments, the chargingevent ranking engine 160 may include one or more modules and/orcomponents to perform one or more operations of the charging eventranking engine 160. The modules may be hardware, software, or acombination of hardware and software, and may be executed by one or moreprocessors. For example, the charging event ranking engine 160 mayinclude an energy identification module 610, a scoring module 620, andan action module 630.

In some example embodiments, the energy identification module 610 isconfigured and/or programmed to access information associated with acharging event at an electric vehicle. For example, the energyidentification module 610 may access information associated with anenergy source (e.g., a wind energy source, a solar energy source, abiofuel source, and/or other renewable energy sources) used to provideenergy to the electric vehicle during the charging event, informationassociated with a cost of energy provided to the electric vehicle duringthe charging event, information associated with a ranking assigned to acharging station used during the charging event, and so on.

In some example embodiments, the scoring module 620 is configured and/orprogrammed to score the charging event based on the accessedinformation. For example, the scoring module 620 may assign a relativelyhigh score to the charging event when a renewable energy source is usedto provide energy to the electric vehicle during the charging event, mayassign a relatively low score to the charging event when the chargingevent occurs during a peak energy time period for an electric grid thatprovided the energy to the electric vehicle during the charging event,and so on. The scoring module 620 may perform some or all of thetechniques described herein when scoring or ranking a charging event.

In some example embodiments, the action module 630 is configured and/orprogrammed to perform an action associated with the scored chargingevent. For example, the action module 630 may display an indication of ascore assigned to the charging event via a mapping applicationassociated with a driver of the electric vehicle, may present a rewardto a driver of the electric vehicle that is based on a score assigned tothe charging event, and so on.

As described herein, the charging event ranking engine 160 may perform avariety of method or processes when scoring a completed charging event.FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating a method 700 for performing anaction associated with a scored charging event. The method 700 may beperformed by the charging event ranking engine 160 and, accordingly, isdescribed herein merely by way of reference thereto. It will beappreciated that the method 700 may be performed on any suitablehardware.

In operation 710, the charging event ranking engine 160 accessesinformation associated with a charging event at an electric vehicle. Forexample, the energy identification module 610 may access informationassociated with an energy source (e.g., a wind energy source, a solarenergy source, a biofuel source, and/or other renewable energy sources)used to provide energy to the electric vehicle during the chargingevent, information associated with a cost of energy provided to theelectric vehicle during the charging event, information associated witha ranking assigned to a charging station used during the charging event,and so on.

In operation 720, the charging event ranking engine 160 scores thecharging event based on the accessed information. For example, thescoring module 620 may assign a relatively high score to the chargingevent when a renewable energy source is used to provide energy to theelectric vehicle during the charging event, may assign a relatively lowscore to the charging event when the charging event occurs during a peakenergy time period for an electric grid that provided the energy to theelectric vehicle during the charging event, and so on. The scoringmodule 620 may perform some or all of the techniques described hereinwhen scoring or ranking a charging event.

In operation 730, the charging event ranking engine 160 performs anaction associated with the scored charging event. For example, theaction module 630 may display an indication of a score assigned to thecharging event via a mapping application associated with a driver of theelectric vehicle, may present a reward to a driver of the electricvehicle that is based on a score assigned to the charging event, and soon.

As an example, FIG. 8 depicts an example display 800 presenting a scoredcharging event. The display 800 includes a map showing a chargingstation along with a display element that provides informationassociated with a score assigned to a recent charging event at thecharging station. For example, the displayed information includes thedate of the charging event (e.g., CHARGE ON Dec. 1, 2013), the scoreassigned to the charging event (e.g., GREENSCORE OF 94/100), and thesource of the energy (e.g., WIND ENERGY). Of course, other informationmay be displayed.

Thus, in some example embodiments, the charging event ranking engine 160may identify a source of energy used to charge an electric vehicleduring a charging event, assign a score to the charging event based onthe identified source of energy, and perform an action for a driver ofthe electric vehicle based on the score assigned to the charging event.

Conclusion

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout thedescription and the claims, the words “comprise,” “comprising,” and thelike are to be construed in an inclusive sense, as opposed to anexclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of“including, but not limited to.” As used herein, the terms “connected,”“coupled,” or any variant thereof, means any connection or coupling,either direct or indirect, between two or more elements; the coupling ofconnection between the elements can be physical, logical, or acombination thereof. Additionally, the words “herein,” “above,” “below,”and words of similar import, when used in this application, shall referto this application as a whole and not to any particular portions ofthis application. Where the context permits, words in the above DetailedDescription using the singular or plural number may also include theplural or singular number respectively. The word “or,” in reference to alist of two or more items, covers all of the following interpretationsof the word: any of the items in the list, all of the items in the list,and any combination of the items in the list.

The above detailed description of embodiments of the system is notintended to be exhaustive or to limit the system to the precise formdisclosed above. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, thesystem are described above for illustrative purposes, various equivalentmodifications are possible within the scope of the system, as thoseskilled in the relevant art will recognize. For example, while processesor blocks are presented in a given order, alternative embodiments mayperform routines having steps, or employ systems having blocks, in adifferent order, and some processes or blocks may be deleted, moved,added, subdivided, combined, and/or modified. Each of these processes orblocks may be implemented in a variety of different ways. Also, whileprocesses or blocks are at times shown as being performed in series,these processes or blocks may instead be performed in parallel, or maybe performed at different times.

While many embodiments described above employ software stored on themobile device, the scripts and other software noted above may be hardcoded into the mobile device (e.g. stored in EEPROM, PROM, etc.).Further, the above functionality may be implemented without scripts orother special modules.

The teachings of the system provided herein can be applied to othersystems, not necessarily the system described above. The elements andacts of the various embodiments described above can be combined toprovide further embodiments.

All of the above patents and applications and other references,including any that may be listed in accompanying filing papers, areincorporated by reference. Aspects of the system can be modified, ifnecessary, to employ the systems, functions, and concepts of the variousreferences described above to provide yet further embodiments of thesystem.

These and other changes can be made to the system in light of the aboveDetailed Description. While the above description details certainembodiments of the system and describes the best mode contemplated, nomatter how detailed the above appears in text, the system can bepracticed in many ways. Details of the local-based support system mayvary considerably in its implementation details, while still beingencompassed by the system disclosed herein. As noted above, particularterminology used when describing certain features or aspects of thesystem should not be taken to imply that the terminology is beingredefined herein to be restricted to any specific characteristics,features, or aspects of the system with which that terminology isassociated. In general, the terms used in the following claims shouldnot be construed to limit the system to the specific embodimentsdisclosed in the specification, unless the above Detailed Descriptionsection explicitly defines such terms. Accordingly, the actual scope ofthe system encompasses not only the disclosed embodiments, but also allequivalent ways of practicing or implementing the system under theclaims.

While certain aspects of the system are presented below in certain claimforms, the inventors contemplate the various aspects of the system inany number of claim forms. Accordingly, the inventors reserve the rightto add additional claims after filing the application to pursue suchadditional claim forms for other aspects of the system.

We claim:
 1. A computerized method, comprising: accessing information associated with a charging event at an electric vehicle; scoring the charging event based on the accessed information; and performing an action associated with the scored charging event.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein performing an action associated with the scored charging event includes displaying an indication of a score assigned to the charging event via a mapping application associated with a driver of the electric vehicle.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein performing an action associated with the scored charging event includes presenting a reward to a driver of the electric vehicle that is based on a score assigned to the charging event.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein accessing information associated with a charging event at an electric vehicle includes accessing information associated with an energy source used to provide energy to the electric vehicle during the charging event.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein accessing information associated with a charging event at an electric vehicle includes accessing information associated with a cost of energy provided to the electric vehicle during the charging event.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein accessing information associated with a charging event at an electric vehicle includes accessing information associated with a cost of energy provided to the electric vehicle during the charging event and associated with an energy source used to provide energy to the electric vehicle during the charging event.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein accessing information associated with a charging event at an electric vehicle includes accessing information associated with a ranking assigned to a charging station used during the charging event.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein scoring the charging event based on the accessed information includes assigning a relatively high score to the charging event when a renewable energy source is used to provide energy to the electric vehicle during the charging event.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein scoring the charging event based on the accessed information includes assigning a relatively low score to the charging event when the charging event occurs during a peak energy time period for an electric grid that provided the energy to the electric vehicle during the charging event.
 10. A system, comprising: an energy identification module that is configured to access information associated with a charging event at an electric vehicle; a scoring module that is configured to score the charging event based on the accessed information; and an action module that is configured to perform an action associated with the scored charging event.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein the action module is configured to display an indication of a score assigned to the charging event via a mapping application associated with a driver of the electric vehicle.
 12. The system of claim 10, wherein the action module is configured to present a reward to a driver of the electric vehicle that is based on a score assigned to the charging event.
 13. The system of claim 10, wherein the energy identification module is configured to access information associated with an energy source used to provide energy to the electric vehicle during the charging event.
 14. The system of claim 10, wherein the energy identification module is configured to identify an energy source used to provide energy to the electric vehicle during the charging event.
 15. The system of claim 10, wherein the energy identification module is configured to access information associated with a cost of energy provided to the electric vehicle during the charging event.
 16. The system of claim 10, wherein the energy identification module is configured to access information associated with a cost of energy provided to the electric vehicle during the charging event and associated with an energy source used to provide energy to the electric vehicle during the charging event.
 17. The system of claim 10, wherein the energy identification module is configured to access information associated with a ranking assigned to a charging station used during the charging event.
 18. The system of claim 10, wherein the scoring module is configured to assign a relatively high score to the charging event when a renewable energy source is used to provide energy to the electric vehicle during the charging event.
 19. The system of claim 10, wherein the scoring module is configured to assign a relatively low score to the charging event when the charging event occurs during a peak energy time period for an electric grid that provided the energy to the electric vehicle during the charging event.
 20. A computer-readable storage medium whose contents, when executed by a computing system, cause the computing system to perform operations, comprising: identifying a source of energy used to charge an electric vehicle during a charging event; assign a score to the charging event based on the identified source of energy; and perform an action for a driver of the electric vehicle based on the score assigned to the charging event. 